Senegal coach Pape Thiau was irritated at being awarded a penalty against Morocco in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final and ordered his team to leave the field.
Senegal head coach Pape Thiau orders players sent off during the AFCON final against Morocco (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Senegal coach Pape Thiau refused to hold a press conference after his side won the Africa Cup of Nations after being booed by members of the media as he entered the press conference room. After Senegal defeated Morocco in a dramatic final, Thiau was jeered by Moroccan journalists and “kicked out of the room.”
Thiau, 44, ordered his team off the pitch after Morocco were awarded a soft penalty with the score tied. Moments earlier, Senegal had had a goal canceled due to a slight foul in stoppage time, but the referee’s pointing to the spot seemed to have sealed the deal.
Referee Jean-Jacques N’Dara was called for VAR after Morocco’s Brahim Dias was adjudged to have been fouled by West Ham’s El Hadji Malik Diouf. Some Senegalese fans invaded the pitch as security rushed to stop them.
Former Liverpool star Sadio Mane eventually convinced his team-mates to return as the match was delayed by 17 minutes. Dias then stood up for a penalty and hit Panenka directly into Edouard Mendy’s arm.
In extra time, Papa Gouye fired a rocket in the 94th minute to seal the glory for Senegal. Thiau’s celebration was ultimately disrupted prior to a press conference, and he abruptly left.
read more: Gary Lineker details AFCON’s final riot after crowd trouble – ‘horribly violent’read more: Unai Emery’s ‘strange’ post-match interview after Aston Villa defeat: ‘I’m not a favorite yet’
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Morocco coach Walid Reglagui took aim at Thiau. “The image we have given of Africa is shameful. A coach asking his players to leave the field… Papu’s actions are not honorable to Africa,” Legulagi said.
“He already started talking in the (pre-game) press conference. It wasn’t classy. But he’s a champion so he can say whatever he wants.
“We stopped the game for 10 minutes in front of the world’s attention. It didn’t help Brahim. That doesn’t excuse the way Brahim took the penalty. That’s how he did it and we have to accept that.”
“We could have been African champions within a minute. That’s football. It’s often brutal. We missed the chance of a lifetime for some people.”
Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr is very angry at referee Jean-Jacques Ndala’s decision (Image: Torbjorn Tande/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
Match winner Guyet tried to explain Senegal’s actions. “What we felt was unfair. There was a foul against us and the referee chose not to look at VAR,” he said.
“We were frustrated but Sadio[Mane]told us to come back on the pitch to cheer us up. We all saw what happened at the end. We made the decision to go back on the pitch to give everything and we did that.”
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